| Country: | Barbados |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Previous Election: | 2018 Barbadian general election |
| Previous Year: | 2018 |
| Next Election: | Next Barbadian general election |
| Next Year: | Next |
| Seats For Election: | 30 seats in the House of Assembly |
| Majority Seats: | 16 |
| Election Date: | 19 January 2022 |
| Image1: | Mia Mottley (2021) (cropped).jpg |
| Leader1: | Mia Mottley |
| Leader Since1: | 26 February 2013 |
| Party1: | Barbados Labour Party |
| Leaders Seat1: | St. Michael North East |
| Last Election1: | 73.47%, 30 seats |
| Seats1: | 30 |
| Popular Vote1: | 78,720 |
| Percentage1: | 69.03% |
| Swing1: | 4.44pp |
| Prime Minister | |
| Before Election: | Mia Mottley |
| Before Party: | Barbados Labour Party |
| After Election: | Mia Mottley |
| After Party: | Barbados Labour Party |
| Election Name: | 2022 Barbadian general election |
General elections were held in Barbados on 19 January 2022 to elect the 30 members of the House of Assembly. The ruling Barbados Labour Party won all 30 seats for the second consecutive election.
This was the 12th national election held since independence from the United Kingdom in 1966, the 16th since the institution of universal suffrage in 1950, and the first since Barbados became a republic in 2021.[1] For the first time, both the ruling Barbados Labour Party and its historical rival the Democratic Labour Party were led by women.[2]
According to the Constitution of Barbados, the Parliament shall stand dissolved no later than every five years from the first sitting of Parliament.[3] The previous general elections were held on 24 May 2018, and the first sitting of the new session of Parliament was held on 5 June 2018.[4] After the dissolution of Parliament, the President of Barbados must issue a writ for a general election of members to the House of Assembly and for appointment of Senators to the Senate within 90 days.[5]
Despite a commanding 29–1 BLP majority in the House of Assembly and elections not being required until 2023, on 27 December 2021 Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced that an early election would be held on 19 January the following year.[6] [7] [8] Mottley's announcement came within a month of the country becoming a republic.[9] She described the election as a "refuelling stop" for the nation,[9] while opposition leaders criticised the early elections as an attempt by her to consolidate power.[10]
On 30 December 2021 Joseph Atherley, who served as the official Leader of the Opposition of the House of Assembly and leader of the People's Party for Democracy and Development, announced an alliance with the United Progressive Party for the election under the name Alliance Party for Progress (APP).[11] [12]
Early voting was held for police officers and election day workers on 12 January.[13]
On 18 January, Philip Catlyn, a member of the Barbados Sovereignty Party (BSP), filed for an injunction against the President and the Attorney General to stop the election. He argued that the home isolation requirements for those testing positive for COVID-19 would prevent close to 5,000 people from voting. Barbados does not allow absentee voting.[14] After hearing the legal arguments. High Court justice Cicely Chase dismissed the case as being out of her jurisdiction. She said that the case should have been filed in an election court.[15]
The 30 members of the House of Assembly are elected by first-past-the-post voting in single-member constituencies.[16]
Seven political parties nominated candidates for this election.[17] Including 10 independents, there were a total of 109 candidates.[18]
| Party | Position | Ideology | Leader | Leader since | Leader's seat | 2018 election | Seats at dissolution | Contested seats | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | Seats | ||||||||||
| Barbados Labour Party | Centre-left | Social democracy Republicanism | Mia Mottley | 26 February 2013[19] | St. Michael North East | 73.47 | 30 | 29 | 30 seats | ||
| bgcolor= | Democratic Labour Party | Centre-left | Social democracy Republicanism | Verla De Peiza | 12 August 2018[20] | Standing in St. Lucy | 21.82 | 0 | 0 | 30 seats | |
| bgcolor= | Alliance Party for Progress (PdP–UPP) | Centre-left | Social democracy Christian left | Joseph Atherley | 30 December 2021 | St. Michael West Standing in St. Michael Central | 1.24 | 0 | 1 | 20 seats | |
| bgcolor= | Solutions Barbados | Centre | Third Way | Grenville Phillips II | 1 July 2015[21] | None | 2.45 | 0 | 0 | 11 seats | |
| bgcolor= | Bajan Free Party | Government transparency Anti-corruption | Alex Mitchell | 1 October 2012[22] | Standing in St. Michael South | 0.07 | 0 | 0 | 4 seats | ||
| bgcolor= | New Barbados Kingdom Alliance | Apostolic Governance | Apostle Lynroy Scantlebury | July 2017[23] | Standing in St Peter | New party | 0 | 2 seats | |||
| bgcolor=white | Barbados Sovereignty Party | Michael Thompson[24] | Standing in St. Peter | New party | 0 | 2 seats | |||||
| Name | Contested Constituency | |
|---|---|---|
| Melissa Taitt | St George North | |
| Omar Smith | St Philip North | |
| Wayne Beckles | St Philip North | |
| Buddy Larrier | Christ Church South | |
| Donald Leacock | Christ Church South | |
| Brian Talma | Christ Church East | |
| Samuel Maynard | St Thomas | |
| Erskine Alleyne | St James Central | |
| Joseph Jordan | St James Central | |
| Fallon Best | City of Bridgetown |
Source for votes:
See also: Cabinet of Barbados. Prime Minister Mottley and attorney-general Dale Marshall were both sworn in for a second term by president Sandra Mason on 20 January 2022.[25]
On 21 January, as the DLP had not regained any seats in the House of Assembly, DLP president Verla De Peiza resigned.[26] Ronnie Yearwood was then subsequently elected leader of the party on 1 May 2022.[27] APP leader Joseph Atherley announced that the alliance would begin preparing for the next election. Both APP[28] and DLP drew attention to the low voter turnout rate.[29]
The Solutions Barbados party congratulated the BLP and announced its willingness to work with the government.[30] Prime Minister Mottley received congratulations from foreign countries and organisations such as Caricom and the OECS.[31] [32]
The newly re-elected Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, announced the following Cabinet of Ministers on 24 January 2022, and subsequently added William Duguid the next day:
| Prime Minister Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, with responsibility for Culture, Security, Public Service, Caricom and Development Commissions | Mia Mottley | St. Michael North East | Barbados Labour Party |
| Deputy Prime Minister Senior Minister Minister of Transport, Works and Water Resources | Sanita Bradshaw | St. Michael South East | |
| Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Senior Minister Governance | Dale Marshall | St. Joseph | |
| Minister of Energy and Business Development Senior Minister | Kerrie Symmonds | St. James Central | |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Senior Minister, Social and Environmental Policy | Jerome Walcott | N/A (Senator) | |
| Senior Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, with responsibility for Infrastructure and Town Planning Matters | William Duguid | Christ Church West | |
| Minister of Homes Affairs and Information | Wilfred Abrahams | Christ Church East | |
| Minister of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Security | Indar Weir | St. Philip South | |
| Minister of Tourism and International Transport | Ian Gooding Edghill | St. Michael West Central | |
| Minister for the Public Service, Home Affairs, Labour and Gender Affairs | Lisa Cummings | N/A (Senator) | |
| Minister of Education, Technological and Vocational Training | Kay McConney | St. Philip West | |
| Minister of Housing, lands and Maintenance | Dwight Sutherland | St. George South | |
| Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs | Kirk Humphrey | St. Michael South | |
| Minister of the Environment and National Beautification and Blue Economy | Adrian Forde | Christ Church West Central | |
| Minister of Labour, Social Security and Third Sector | Colin Jordan | St. Peter | |
| Minister of Industry, Innovation, Science and Technology | Davidson Ishmael | St. Michael North | |
| Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment | Charles Griffith | St. John | |
| Minister in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development | Ryan Straughn | Christ Church East Central | |
| Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister | Chantal Munroe Knight | N/A (Senator) | |
| Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Wellness | Sonia Browne | St. Philip North | |
| Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Ministry of Business Development | Sandra Husbands | St. James South |
| Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Transport, Works and Water Resources, with responsibility for Water Resources | Rommel Springer | St. Andrew | Barbados Labour Party |
| Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs | Corey Layne | City of Bridgetown |